Richard Castle's secret sniping action against Simon was quite covert. After all, this guy had the skills of the strongest CIA agent, Jason Bourne, thanks to his system rewards. Additionally, he had a chubby helper to conceal his whereabouts. He also disguised himself specifically to avoid detection by vigilant individuals. As a result, he successfully evaded the ubiquitous eyes of the king of intelligence, Powell, during the final gathering earlier today. Moreover, the place where Simon and his group gathered was a waterworks construction site, an open area devoid of the usual vagrant spies from Barry Street. Thus, Powell, now completely baffled, was listening to his subordinates' reports, trying to figure out who this mysterious sniper could be.
Could it be John Wick's friend Marcus? He indeed had the capability, but Powell didn't believe he would help the NYPD out of goodwill. Marcus, being a hitman, wouldn't act without a contract, especially since Powell knew there was no personal grudge between Marcus and Simon.
So, who could this mysterious sniper be?
Powell listened to his subordinates while pondering the sniper's identity. When his subordinate mentioned Castle's name, he snapped back to attention, no longer fixated on the sniper, and looked at his subordinate in astonishment. "What did you say? That little punk Rick is involved in this again?"
His subordinate understood why his boss reacted this way. Looking at the file detailing the incident, he responded with a bitter smile to Powell, who had stood up in surprise. "Yes, boss. In fact, the NYPD was able to locate the bomb hidden in the school so quickly thanks to Mr. Castle's indispensable help..."
Powell's interest was piqued. He looked at his subordinate with shining eyes. "Go on, what has that little rascal done this time?"
The subordinate glanced at the file in his hand and reported Castle's actions to the now contemplative Powell. "I suspect Mr. Castle has his own intelligence network, and it's very efficient. According to our investigation, Mr. Castle knew about Simon's plan to bomb and then rob the Federal Reserve a week before today's events. He informed Officer Beckett from the NYPD's 12th precinct and her superior shortly after Simon's group arrived in New York. Officer Beckett and her superior, Captain Roy Montgomery, reported this to the NYPD headquarters twice in the past week. However, due to Simon's group's excellent concealment, the intelligence didn't catch the NYPD's attention.
We also discovered that even Officer John McClane, who was played for a fool today by Simon, received two warnings from Officer Beckett based on Castle's intelligence.
Moreover, Officer Beckett was the first to arrive at the Fifth Avenue department store explosion scene, not only because it was her jurisdiction but also clearly due to Castle's information. She was prepared in advance. Later, she left the department store after receiving a phone call and led her officers to evacuate the Wall Street subway station, preventing significant casualties from Simon's second bomb.
All these actions show that Officer Beckett was prepared for today's events.
Additionally, the unusual behavior of the 12th precinct, such as keeping half their officers on standby while the entire NYPD searched for the bomb, further indicates they had prior knowledge. They, led by Captain Montgomery, went straight to the school where Simon placed a decoy bomb.
From these signs, it's evident that the 12th precinct was prepared for the explosions and robbery. We believe this intelligence came from Mr. Castle..."
Listening to this point, Powell couldn't help but interrupt. "Wait, wait... You mean Rick tipped off the NYPD about Simon's attack on New York?"
His subordinate nodded affirmatively. "Yes, based on our current intelligence, Mr. Castle knew about Simon's plan in advance. The 12th precinct's actions today, which took everyone by surprise, were clearly premeditated. Officer Beckett's swift response to the department store explosion and the subsequent evacuation of the subway station, and their eventual successful defusal of the school bomb, all indicate they were informed beforehand.
Analyzing the intelligence from the NYPD, it seems all this was pre-warned by Mr. Castle."
Powell stopped his subordinate's report, squinted his eyes, and pondered for a moment. "Your analysis is likely correct. Rick, since teaming up with John Wick against the Tarasov family, has become unstoppable. He probably did obtain accurate information on Simon's group..."
After a brief sigh, Powell refocused on his subordinate. "Continue..."
The subordinate glanced at the file and continued. "However, it's strange that Simon's group couldn't successfully escape with the gold they robbed from the Federal Reserve. After regrouping, they were ambushed by Officer John McClane at a waterworks construction site in the suburbs of New York. What's even more surprising is that McClane, with the help of a mysterious sniper, wiped out Simon's group. Now, the NYPD is in a verbal battle with the CIA and the FBI, with the media criticizing the FBI. Additionally, four gold bars, totaling fifty kilograms, are missing. Both the police and we suspect that the mysterious sniper took these gold bars. But just before I came in, we received urgent intelligence that three of the missing gold bars were taken by a black man named Zeus, who helped McClane today. This means the mysterious sniper only took one bar weighing 12.5 kilograms, which is surprising. He clearly had the opportunity to take the nearly ten tons of gold, so why did he only take one bar?"
At this point, Powell couldn't help but laugh. After gathering the information, Powell was 80% sure that the mysterious sniper who helped John McClane eliminate Simon was Castle, who had always thought he was well-hidden. Though his subordinates might not know, Powell was aware that Castle was far from the weakling he pretended to be. He was as skilled a shooter as 'Night Demon' John Wick!
Whether it was Castle personally taking down human traffickers in Paris's Paradise Street or his duel with John in the D'Antonio family estate on Long Island, Powell was well-informed. Not to mention, Powell knew about Castle purchasing a large batch of arms from Winston. Considering all this, it's highly likely that the mysterious sniper, who baffled the police, CIA, and FBI, was none other than Castle.
Powell even speculated on Castle's motive: fearing retaliation from Simon's group if they escaped and discovered he had tipped off the police.
Without revealing his thoughts, Powell looked at his respectful subordinate. "Let's put aside the sniper for now. Is there anything else?"
The subordinate hesitated, looking at the file, and replied uncertainly, "There is indeed one more thing, and it's also related to Mr. Castle..."
Powell felt too exasperated to even get angry. That rascal Rick was truly reckless! He glared at his subordinate with his one eye. "Then hurry up and spill it!"
The subordinate, trembling, said, "Just two hours ago, after Mr. Castle left a friend's house, that friend was kidnapped by people from General Atomics..."
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